Ohioans' views on gay marriage have changed, with the majority now supporting an amendment that would do away with a ban on same-sex marriage, a Columbus Dispatch poll found.

In 2004, 62 percent of Ohio voters approved a gay marriage ban. The poll found that 54 percent of voters now support a reverse on this stance, while 40 percent still back the ban, according to the newspaper poll.

Organizing for Action will have a rally and press conference at noon Wednesday in Akron to highlight how the sequester will impact public health and safety providers, such as nurses, teachers and first responders.

The event will be at the corner of Cedar Street and Wabash Avenue, near Akron General Medical Center in downtown Akron. It will feature speakers from some of the areas that will be affected and local officials.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman's staff will hold office hours in Stark County Monday, days after Portman announced a reversal on his position on gay marriage.

Portman told the Plain Dealer and other media Thursday during a news conference that he changed his mind and decided he should support gay marriage after learning his college-age son is gay. He is the first Republican senator to support gay marriage, according to Freedom to Marry Ohio, a group leading an effort to get an amendment on the ballot in Ohio legalizing gay marriage.

Gov. John Kasich may have his first gubernatorial competition: Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald.

“Today, I’m announcing the formation of an exploratory committee to run for governor,” said FitzGerald in a news release. “But more than that, I’m beginning a conversation with you, the people of Ohio.”

The Wayne County Democratic Party has endorsed an amendment to legalize gay marriage in Ohio.

"We support this amendment because a loving couple should have the freedom to marry regardless of gender," Betsy Sheets, the party's chairwoman, said in a news release. "The amendment also guarantees religious choice. It will be up to the religious institution to decide to perform or recognize a seam-gender marriage or not."

A Green pastor delivered the opening prayer during the Ohio House session today.

The Rev. Joel Engman recently became pastor of Harmony Springs Christian Church in Green. He is a Wooster native and was born and raised in northeast Ohio. He graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and attended Ashland Theological Seminary, where he received his Master’s of Divinity degree in 2007pastor of Harmony Springs Christian Church in Green. He is a Wooster native and was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. He graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and attended Ashland Theological Seminary, where he received his Master’s of Divinity degree in 2007, according to a news release from state Rep. Marilyn Slaby, R-Copley, who welcomed Engman.

Akron City Council approved a resolution Monday supporting Gov. John Kasich's proposed expansion of Medicaid to low-income Ohio residents.

Kasich included in his proposed two-year state budget an extension of Medicaid health care coverage to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $15,400 for an individual or approximately $32,000 for a family of four. The governor has asked for support for his proposal.